Was Kariya Angered by Ultimatum

Tony Tavares, Mighty Duck president, would neither confirm nor deny Monday night that Walt Disney Co. chairman Michael Eisner angered unsigned free agent Paul Kariya by making a take-it-or-leave-it offer last month.

“I have not heard of any ultimatums and I think I would be aware of an ultimatum,” Tavares said before the Ducks’ 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins at the Pond. “They have met only once. [But] I don’t know every conversation Michael Eisner and Paul Kariya have had.”

An NHL source said Saturday that Eisner’s final offer has angered Kariya so much that he’s considering sitting out the NHL season. Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving and Kariya’s Winnipeg-based agent, Don Baizley, was unavailable for comment.

Asked why Eisner--whose role in the Ducks’ day-to-day operations is limited--would suddenly become so interested in the negotiations, Tavares said, “I don’t know.”

“Michael hasn’t told me that Paul’s angry with him,” Tavares continued. “Baizley hasn’t told me Paul’s mad at Michael. I honestly don’t know about the specifics with regard to the discussion between Paul and Michael. The first time I had heard that stuff was when I read it in the paper.

“I can’t honestly tell you how many times Paul and Michael have talked. I know they’ve talked more than once. [But] you’ve got to get into whether your source is accurate or not. I don’t know if his statements were colorized. You’ve got to consider your source and assume it’s colorized.”

Tavares also said he sympathized with fans who purchased tickets hoping to see Kariya work his offensive magic. Tavares stopped short of apologizing for Kariya’s absence or for showing a highlight video of last season that failed to include clips of Kariya or former coach Ron Wilson.

Moments into the pregame video, fans began the first of many, “We want Paul” chants during Friday’s lackluster 1-1 tie against the Ottawa Senators.

“Did we take Paul out of the highlight video? Of course we did,” Tavares said. “Did we take Ron Wilson out of the highlight video? Of course we did. We wanted to show people who are here. We didn’t show Todd Krygier.”

Krygier, a Duck for parts of two seasons, was not the third-leading scorer in the NHL last season or the runner-up as the league’s MVP, however.

“I can’t say bear with us because I don’t know how long this is going to take [to sign Kariya],” Tavares said. “I don’t blame the fans for being frustrated. I honestly, truly do not.

“My message to the fans is, ‘Focus your frustration where it should be focused.’ It’s not the players’ fault Paul’s not here. It’s not Pierre Page’s fault Paul’s not here or Ron’s not here. If they want to be angry then be angry and the appropriate parties, which includes me.”

A cranky announced crowd of 16,486, which ended the team’s consecutive sellout streak at 20, didn’t have much to cheer about on Monday night. As a second-period power play failed to produce a game-tying goal, they broke into a thunderous, “We want Paul,” chant.

The Ducks showed a bit more life than in Friday’s game, but couldn’t seem to click offensively and faded badly in the third period. They had plenty of shots on goal, surpassing Friday’s meager total of 16 early in the second period.

Boston goaltender Jim Carey stopped all 27 shots he faced in recording his first victory of the season and his 15th career shutout.

Boston seized a 1-0 lead on Jason Allison’s goal at the 8-minute mark of the second period when he slipped a quick low shot beneath goalie Guy Hebert. Ted Donato then knocked in a rebound off a scramble in front at the 8:06 mark of the third period for the Bruins’ second goal. Tim Taylor added an empty-net goal in the final minute.